Michael Probert

Short answer: a warm brush-off after every cook is the habit that prevents almost every grate problem — but the right tool and the right deep-clean method depend entirely on what your grates are made of. Porcelain-enameled cast iron (most Weber grills) wants a nylon or brass brush and a baking-soda soak, never a metal […]

A grill basket solves a problem every backyard cook runs into eventually: grates are built for steaks and chicken thighs, not sliced peppers, shrimp or a handful of fries. Without one, small or delicate food either falls through the bars or sticks and tears when you try to flip it. A good basket contains everything, […]

The best flat-top griddles for 2026 — 9 real, independently re-verified picks (with two corrected model swaps after our dossier turned out to be years out of date), plus how griddle cooking differs from grilling and the safety basics.

The best charcoal for grilling in 2026 — 10 real, independently-verified lump and briquette picks for budget, premium, kamado and long-burn use, plus what actually matters when you’re choosing a bag.

There’s no single winner between lump charcoal and briquettes — the honest, research-led breakdown of composition, burn behavior, flavor, cost and safety, and which fuel actually fits which cook.

A cross-fuel pillar guide to grill value — the honest trade-offs between charcoal, gas and pellet on cost per year of ownership, a value checklist, whether buying used is worth it, and which of our fuel-specific guides to read next.

How long smoked meat actually lasts — the 2-hour rule, 3–4 days in the fridge, and roughly 2–3 months in the freezer for best quality — plus why smoking doesn’t preserve meat the way curing does.

The best meat injectors for 2026 — 8 research-led picks for turkey, brisket and other large cuts, plus the food-safety rules that matter when you inject: cleaning between uses, why injecting doesn’t change the safe cooking temperature, and safe handling before the meat hits the smoker.

Our research-led picks of the best smoker boxes for 2026 — 10 verified rectangular, V-shaped, stainless and cast-iron smoker boxes for turning any gas or charcoal grill into a smoker, with honest buying guidance and price bands, not stale prices.

A vertical pellet smoker trades the wide, shallow cook surface of a barrel-format pellet grill for a tall, insulated cabinet stacked with several racks — built first for smoking capacity, not for searing steaks. The auger and firepot sit near the base, feeding heat and smoke up through the cabinet, so you can load ribs, […]